Part 3: America’s Natural Resources: Agriculture, Energy, and the Environment
1. Abundant Harvests
a. US does not depend on foreign imports for sustenance
b. Americans spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than any other nation
c. We are the largest agricultural exporter in the world
d. committed to expanding trade opportunities and opening new markets for agriculture
i. It looks like this is something Trump has made good on, and it appears that farmers as a whole are supportive of him because his policies have benefited them.
e. global trading partners must adhere to science-based standards with regard to food and health regulations
i. “We will not tolerate the use of bogus science and scare tactics to bar our products from foreign markets, nor will we allow insufficient health and safety standards for products imported for our consumption.”
ii. This was something I struggled to find information about but I’m wondering if it has to do with the argument some people have that certain ingredients are banned in Europe, therefore, we should ban them here. (Most of these arguments don’t hold water, btw)
f. federal dairy policies are an impediment to the ability of our dairy producers to meet global demand
i. From what I found, it looks like our dairy farmers have actually been overproducing, and are having no trouble meeting demand.
g. oppose groups who want to stop or make more expensive our current system of meat production
i. Democrats (Obama administration) tried to create draconian rules concerning the marketing of poultry and livestock.
ii. I really couldn’t find what these supposed “draconian” rules are. I did find this. https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/fact-sheets/2014/March/Obama-Administration-Removes-Barriers-to-Food-and-Agriculture-Exports
iii. I also thought this was an interesting piece about Trump and the Meat industry https://newrepublic.com/article/155363/trump-meatpacking-processing-plant-rules-upton-sinclair-jungle
h. federal mandates on food options and menu labeling should be ended
i. It doesn’t look like this has stopped https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/06/13/532819225/trump-administration-gives-industry-more-time-to-adopt-new-nutrition-fact-label
iii. I’m kind of on the fence about this because I don’t really think that labeling the amount of calories in menu items is making that big of a dent in obesity issues. I think we could go a lot farther with destigmatizing weight and getting doctors to focus on a Health At Every Size approach instead of “losing weight will always fix everything.”
i. oppose mandatory labeling of GMOs, which are safe and healthy
i. I am very much on board with this one. The labeling of “non-GMO” on things that don’t even HAVE a GMO version has created an unnecessary fear of GMO’s. So many people now just assume that GMO’s are bad and they are NOT. https://www.agdaily.com/news/gmos-safe-science-yes-media-no/
j. Democrats want to add more regulations to agriculture and this results in higher food costs
k. agriculture suffered under Obama
i. Great Summary of farm issues under Trump and Obama
1. https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/03/21/farming-and-agriculture-in-the-age-of-trump/
l. The states should be the ones that develop farm policies
m. WOTUS rule is a travesty
i. Federal agencies should not be allowed to seize control of state waters
ii. This seems like a pretty divisive issue, here is what is happening with it https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063446011
n. ranching on public lands must be encouraged
o. continue to provide abundant water supply to America’s farmers
p. Federal programs that assist farmers need to be cost-effective and functional
i. expansion of agricultural exports through the vigorous opening of new markets around the world is the surest path to farm security
q. Farm bill should be done on time (accuse Obama administration of taking too long on the last one)
r. Democrats expanded SNAP, and that accounts for 70% of farm bill spending
i. removed work requirements for able-bodied adults, and GOP wants to restore them as well as separate the administration of SNAP from Department of Agriculture
ii. Interesting article on this issue https://www.npr.org/2019/12/04/784732180/nearly-700-000-snap-recipients-could-lose-benefits-under-new-trump-rule
s. Wildfires are a serious problem that we can remedy by managing timber properly
i. states can best manage our forests
ii. Wildfires are something I worry about, but from what I’m finding, it looks like maybe Trump is not the most informed on them.
iii. https://www.factcheck.org/2019/11/trump-again-misunderstands-californias-wildfires/
iv. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/13/donald-trump-wildfires-science-forest-management
2. A New Era in Energy
a. promise to find new ways to store electricity
b. support opening of public lands and outer continental shelf to exploration and responsible production
i. states should be given authority to manage energy resources on federally controlled public lands within their respective borders
c. don’t like the Clean Power Plan – we will get rid of it.
i. Obama administration put forward this plan which set limits on carbon pollution from power plants – considered by many the biggest step our country has taken to address climate change
ii. Trump Administration replaced this plan with the Affordable Clean Energy Rule in 2019
1. this plan calls for efficiency improvements at generating stations but lets states decide how to regulate power plant transmissions
d. Democrats don’t understand that coal is an “abundant, clean, affordable, reliable domestic energy source” – they have an anti-coal agenda.
i. The push to move away from coal is because coal burning is particularly bad for the environment.
ii. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-to-do-about-coal-2006/
iii. I don’t think the Democrats are necessarily “anti-coal”, they just would like to move away from using coal and replace it with better things.
e. Criticism for Democrats “permitting process” in which it takes an average of 30 days for states to permit an oil or gas well and takes the federal government longer than 7 months.
f. Obama is hostile to dams
g. Keystone Pipeline is a symbol of everything wrong with Obama’s approach – GOP wants to finish that pipeline
i. I found articles on all sides of this issue, it seems like there’s kind of this give and take between protecting the environment and utilizing and creating better energy sources/accessing resources the country needs.
ii. Trump did move forward in approving the pipeline, but there are some roadblocks https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/trump-administration-approves-keystone-pipeline-on-u-s-land
h. Climate change is “far from this nation’s most pressing national security issues”
i. Obama disregarded Nuclear Waste Policy Act and we will end that disregard
ii. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101689489
iii. https://www.eenews.net/stories/1062284239
iv. The above sources talk about what each President did or did not do with this act. Again, environmental policies are so divisive, I don’t really have super strong feelings on these (yet)
j. encourage cost-effective development of renewable energy sources by private capital
k. US depends too much on China for rare earth and other hardrock materials
i. we need to expedite permit process for mineral production on public lands
l. lift restrictions to allow responsible development of nuclear energy
m. oppose carbon tax
n. American energy producers should be free to export their product to foreign markets
i. It seems like Trump has done good things for energy, from what I can find. However, I think it also depends on whether or not you believe climate change is a problem and whether we need to do more about that or not.
3. Environmental Progress
a. We have a moral obligation to be good stewards of our resources
i. people are the most valuable resources, human health and safety are the proper measurements of a policy’s success
1. I find this interesting, because I feel like this should go together. Like, we need to take care of people BY being good stewards of the earth’s resources. If we just put people first, earth second all the time, we’ll eventually no longer have an earth.
ii. private ownership is the best guarantee of conscientious stewardship
iii. Poverty is the greatest threat to the environment
1. correlation or causation? Is the environment getting worse causing poverty, or is poverty hurting the environment?
b. Democrats approach environmentalism with “shoddy science, scare tactics, and centralized command-and-control regulation”
i. So…they follow the global consensus that climate change is an issue?
ii. https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/17/do-scientists-agree-on-climate-change/
c. Our environment is steadily improving
i. air and waterways are much healthier than a few decades ago
1. This is true, but it doesn’t mean we’re done
ii. we have drastically reduced pollution, mainstreamed recycling, and avoided ecological degradation
iii. air pollution will continue to decline for several decades because we are updating old equipment.
1. Still doesn’t mean we can sit back and relax
d. Animas River Spill – caused by the EPA but ignored by environmentalists
i. https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/us/animas-river-spill-by-the-numbers/index.html
ii. Couldn’t find evidence that environmentalists “ignored” it
e. propose shifting responsibility for environmental regulation to the states
i. EPA should become an independent bipartisan commission
f. put an end to “sue and settle” – environmental groups are suing federal agencies and reaching agreement without taxpayer input
g. reform Equal Access to Justice Act to cap and disclose payments made to environmental activists
h. Enforce original intent of Clean Water Act, not it’s distortion by EPA regulations
i. Forbid EPA to regulate carbon dioxide
i. Looks like Trump made good on this…lots of people are unhappy, not seeing this as a good thing.
ii. https://www.bettergov.org/news/fact-check-have-carbon-emissions-increased-under-trump/
iv. https://www.npr.org/2020/08/13/901863874/trumps-methane-rollback-that-big-oil-doesn-t-want
j. Restore to Congress authority to set the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
k. Federal government owns so much land and the states should be given control of some of this land so they can generate revenue from it.
i. https://e360.yale.edu/features/open-for-business-the-trump-revolution-on-public-lands
ii. Looks like this sounds good but maybe not so great in practice. Found several articles saying this is a BAD PLAN.
l. Amend Antiquities Act of 1906 to establish Congress’ right to approve designation of national monuments and require the approval of a state where a national monument is designated or a national park is proposed.
i. Seems like there’s some opposition here too. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/the-antiquities-act-and-why-trump-wants-to-change-it/
m. Endangerd Species Act shouldn’t protect animals that exist in other states or countries in healthy numbers
i. balance protection of endangered species with costs of compliance and rights of property owners
ii. oppose listing of lesser prairie chicken and potential listing of the sage grouse
iii. This one was done. https://www.npr.org/2019/08/12/750479370/trump-administration-makes-major-changes-to-protections-for-endangered-species
n. UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a political mechanism, not an unbiased scientific institution
i. unreliability is shown because it is intolerant toward scientists and others who do not agree with them
ii. You can’t call science unreliable just because there are some scientists who don’t agree. Science is a majority rules type of thing. When a large number of scientists get together and agree on something, pay attention.
iii. https://energyinnovation.org/2013/10/03/the-ipcc-and-public-debate-on-science/
iv. Great Summary on who the IPCC is and what they do https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/ipcc-who-are-they
o. reject the agendas of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement
i. We have actually started the process to officially withdraw from the Paris agreement, this will go into effect in November, but may not stick if Biden wins. Apparently 77% of Americans think we should stay in the Paris Agreement, so that was interesting
ii. https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/11/04/trump-begins-formal-us-withdrawal-paris-agreement/
p. demand an immediate halt to the UNFCCC
q. environmental problems are best solved by giving incentives for development of new techniques
From all my googling on this, I’m getting the vague sense that Trump has also been ignoring the climate change science. While asserting that he knows more about it than anyone else. Sigh.
